Wednesday, June 10, 2009

On Racism

I'm not trying to get hits here, nor am I trying to be a smartypants by asking a question that many would like to just shy away from and avoid. The first place I look, whenever I try to find stuff is Wikipedia, and they had linked to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, which defines racism as:

1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

2 : racial prejudice or discrimination

Now my question is this: If someone belonging to a certain race (let's say a Frenchman) says that his own race is somehow inferior and that all the ill traits and problems of his society are due to his race, does that make him a racist? I'm not pointing fingers or hinting or anything, the kiddo just wants to know, there's only so much that a Wikipedia article has and this just wasn't there... :)